Sammy didn't object to that. She and Rico watched him fix it, and once again he was amazed by Mitch's attention to detail. Every petal got glued down perfectly.
"Your dad really can fix anything," Rico told Sammy and she nodded, so proud of him.
Now that the doll was all fixed up, Mitch got started on the pancakes Rico was planning to make. Sammy didn't think the job was done though. She turned to Rico and held out the doll to him. "Rico, kiss Miss Lulu to help her get better."
Rico turned to Mitch. "She's making me kiss a doll, a female doll." Mitch didn't show any sympathy so Rico gave the doll a noisy kiss. "There. Now make your dad kiss her too. It's only fair."
Mitch now glared at him, but when Sammy brought the doll to him he dutifully kissed her. Since Mitch had the pancakes well in hand, Rico started to set the table.
"I guess this doll is important to you," Rico said to Sammy though be didn't see her playing with it much.
"It's from Grandma," Sammy said then she made a sad face. "My grandma is gone. Now I don't have any grandmas."
"Sorry, honey," Rico told her. "You can borrow my grandma."
"Really?" she said as she looked up at him.
"Sure. You two made a pie together and you danced in the basement. You're practically best buddies already," Rico said and Sammy smiled.
"And she gave me the big hat. I'm gonna go get it." Sammy then ran off, yelling, "Look, Natalie, Veronica, Miss Lulu is all better."
Rico went over to see how the pancakes were coming along and to hover near Mitch. "I can't believe you kissed a doll. You're racking up some serious dad points."
"That impresses you?" Mitch asked.
"Sure it does," Rico said. "The grandmother who gave her the doll...?"
"She means Ellie's mother," Mitch said. "That doll belonged to Ellie when she was a little girl. Her mother made it for her. Then Linda gave it to Sammy, but Sammy doesn't remember her. She had barely turned two when Linda died. She lost both her mother and her grandmother."
"What about your parents," Rico wondered.
"I never knew either my mom or dad. My aunt and uncle raised me, and they washed their hands of me as soon as I turned eighteen," Mitch said as he spooned pancake batter into the pan.
"That's harsh. Sorry," Rico said and lightly touched his arm.
"Growing up in my aunt and uncle's house taught me how much a kid needs warmth and to know they're loved. If my aunt and uncle cared about me, they didn't show it. It was all 'Be a man, stand on your own two feet, don't ask for anything, don't depend on anyone. Don't cry.'" Mitch smiled sadly. "But that's no way to raise a little kid. It leaves a hole inside you."
"Damn," Rico said and leaned his head on Mitch's shoulder.
Mitch reached over and tussled his hair. "It wasn't an easy lesson, but I'm glad I learned it for Sammy's sake. I wasn't ready to raise her by myself, but at least I knew what not to do."
"You're a great dad," Rico told him and threw an arm around his shoulders as he made a prediction. "I think Sammy will grow up to be independent and strong, but she'll still know she can count on you."
"Yeah?" Mitch said and he smiled. "I like that. I can see her, my Sammy feisty and strong, who knows how much her dad loves her."
"Oh man, you make me want to call up my dad to tell him he isn't so bad," Rico said with a groan.
"High praise," Mitch said. "I can't imagine that you would let any kind of disagreement stand between you and the people you care about."
Rico only blinked at him. Is that how Mitch thought of him?
"What was the fight with your dad about?" Mitch asked him.
"Dad wanted me to go into his dental practice, and I didn't know what I wanted to do, so I figured why not go into the family business. It's something to do. But then I realized it just wasn't for me. When I told my dad I didn't know what I wanted to study, but it definitely wouldn't be dentistry, he threw a fit. Said he didn't want to pay my tuition if all I was going to do was waste my time. I figured I would find a way to pay for it myself, but he was right about not wasting time. I'm not going back to school until I know what I want to do."
Mitch looked at him appraisingly. "Is there something you're good at?"
"Ouch," Rico said and pushed at his shoulder.
